MOSCOW, May 15 (Reuters) - The chief executive of SocieteGenerale's Russian unit was held in Moscow onWednesday on suspicion of receiving bribes, dealing a blow tothe French bank's hopes of achieving a turnaround on its primaryforeign market.
The questioning of Rosbank Chief Executive Vladimir Golubkovfollows promises by President Vladimir Putin to crack down onendemic corruption in business and public life but it is also ablow against one of the few international banks left in Russia.
Despite announcing cost cuts when it published its latestresults, SocGen has reaffirmed its commitment to Russia, amarket it entered at high cost over the past decade that hasbeen abandoned by other Western banks.
Those plans could now be at risk after Golubkov's detentionon suspicion of illegally accepting a six-figure dollar sum andsoliciting a far larger bribe.
The Rosbank CEO was held "on suspicion of receiving illegalmonetary compensation" totalling 5 million roubles ($159,600),the Russian Interior Ministry said in a statement that gave hisjob title but not his name.
Golubkov was also suspected of soliciting a bribe of $1.5million to grant a loan, and a second senior Rosbank manager wasalso held. Rosbank declined to comment. A source close to thebank said Golubkov was at his office in central Moscow.
Payments to facilitate loans are not unusual in Russia'sbanking system and typically go undetected. Cases that do cometo light have been known to result from a competitor mobilisingso-called 'administrative resources' to put pressure on a bank.
Western banks including Barclays and HSBC have pulled out in recent years, having paid up to four timesbook value to get a foothold in Russia only to find they couldnot compete with state-backed Sberbank and VTB.
Barclays (BARC)
HSBC Holdings (HSBA)